MacKenzie has long argued that the existing system - in which listeners manually record their listening in a diary - discriminates against smaller commercial stations such as the Wireless Group-owned talkSPORT because it underestimates radio audiences.
MacKenzie's plans were unveiled yesterday (Tuesday) together with the results of two tests commissioned by the Wireless Group. More than 670 adults in two areas of the UK were asked to wear an electronic wrist watch known as the Radiocontrol system to record the radio stations they listened to. At the same time, they also filled in a diary to record which stations they listened to and where.
According to MacKenzie, the findings revealed that people listen to more radio stations than they mark down in a diary. One study showed 215 radio listeners marked in their diaries that they had listened to an average of 2.7 radio stations a week, while the watch recorded that the same people had listened to an average of 4.4 stations a week.
The findings also showed that 30% of all periods of uninterrupted listening are for periods of under five minutes - which are not counted by Rajar.
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